Nuclear car takes the chequered flag

27 March 2009

John Edwards steered his way to an Atlantic Championship win at Sebring on 21 March. The car was sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Institute, under the slogan Nuclear Clean Air Energy.

Edwards drives for the Newman Wachs team, set up under the late actor Paul Newman, who was also a philanthropist and supporter of nuclear energy. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and US power utility Entergy took advantage of the team's offers of cut-price sponsorship deals for approved causes to take the role of official sponsors.

The Sebring event was the first of the season, so the win makes 18-year-old Edwards and Newman Wachs the early championship leaders. Edwards started second on the grid but took the lead at the start, building a 4.7-second lead by the end of the race. He took home the winner's prize of $50,000 for his trouble.

The official name of the car is: Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development / Nuclear Clean Air Energy / NEI / Entergy.